Grand Geneva Say “I Do” Photo Contest – Eileen & Jason

30 Jul, 2010

Eileen and Jason were married at the Grand Geneva Resort on July 11, 2010 and have entered our Say “I Do” Photo Contest. As you’ll read in their narrative, it was truly the greatest day of their lives and they are very thankful for the fantastic service they received from the Grand Geneva.

Congratulations to the happy couple and we wish you the very best!

Eileen and Jason

This was the second marriage for both us. We were so fortunate to have found one another at a time when we had very little hope. One of the common interests for us is that we both love the outdoors. Our first getaway together was to Lake Geneva. The natural scenery created a romantic environment for us as we vacationed together and we fell in love with the area. When Jason proposed and the wedding planning began, we both immediately thought of having our wedding in Lake Geneva. Not only was it a beautiful place to have a wedding, but it had special meaning to us. Being the second wedding for both of us, we did not want the typical frills a traditional wedding has, and we certainly did not want to spend a ton of money. Having nature be our decoration and having good food and the closest family and friends surround us for a decent cost were most important to us. Our search began in November 2009 as we traveled 3 weekends in a row to the Lake Geneva area. We were excited and eager to finalize a destination of where we would begin our new journey together and we were certain that we’d find the perfect place. By the 3rd weekend our spirit was deflated quite quickly. Every place we went to in the Lake Geneva area would not accommodate our simple needs. We were told place after place, that what we wanted would not be feasible in July in Lake Geneva. We even met with people who took down our information and said they’d get back to us and we’d never hear back from them. The more we didn’t have any one trying to work with us, it was quite clear Lake Geneva would not be the destination for our wedding and our excitement began to dwindle. We were renting a cottage off of Lake Como on the 3rd weekend of our search. After a long day of meeting with people and places and being denied again, we went back to the cottage and began to search online in Michigan for places we could have our wedding. That night, we went to a small bar in town to discuss plan B. While we were there, the bar tender struck up a conversation with us.

When we told him our purpose for being in Lake Geneva and how we were exhausted and discouraged in our efforts to find a place to have our wedding, he suggested the Grand Geneva. He told us that the Grand is quite accommodating and will work with us to make our wedding happen. He walked away and we looked at each other and said, “There is no way a place like that could ever meet our simple needs.” We had been to the Abbey and denied and we felt like the Grand was just as big of a place, so why even try. The next morning, we were heading back to Chicago and we both decided to swing by the Grand Geneva. We both did not think anything would come of it, but we wanted to at least say that we tried all avenues in Lake Geneva before giving up. The Grand would be our 13th place we would have visited in Lake Geneva, and we weren’t expecting much. We walked in to the Grand and gave each other the, “There is no way we can afford this,” look. We were greeted with a warm smile from several people. I told Jason that I didn’t want to stay too long because I didn’t want to fall in love with the place and then have my hopes crushed again. By this point in the process, we were frustrated, so we sat down with the wedding coordinator and laid it out on the line and told him everything we needed and wanted for our wedding day. Anticipating a, “no we can’t accommodate you” answer, we were shocked when he said, “Let’s see what we can do to make your special day here at the Grand Geneva work!” It was the surest sounding answer we had had since we began our search a month prior.

Suddenly, all of our requests were falling into place. We couldn’t believe it. What took weeks of phone calls back and forth to these other places took 20 minutes with the Grand Geneva. We both got in the car to drive home and hugged each other. We could not believe it. Could it be too good to be true? We should’ve stopped at the Grand the first time we came into town. From that day forward, we had NOTHING but superb treatment and our wedding plans took on a life of its own. Everyone at the Grand was so courteous, communicative, helpful, and guided us all the way to the night of our wedding. From the wedding coordinator to the catering captain the night of the wedding, everyone was just so wonderful to work with. Being from out of town, Marlene, the wedding coordinator, made it so incredibly easy to plan. She took care of the things we did not think of. She was in constant contact with me and took the initiative to help me in all areas of planning. I rarely had questions and when I did, she responded promptly and accordingly.

The Wedding day was fantastic. We had gorgeous weather and nature was, in fact, our decorator. The Chalet didn’t need much décor either. Its rustic appeal brought a sense of warmth to everyone who was inside or outside celebrating our special day. The wait staff not only did their job, but they were personable and friendly and got to know the guests. When they found out my father was allergic to garlic, unbeknownst to my father, they traveled all the way back up to the resort to get him mashed potatoes without garlic. We were floored and so unbelievably grateful. Every single request we had was met and executed with a smile. It seems like all the departments at the Grand, work together to make sure they are consistent in how they work with the guests. We have never been to a place where everyone is so genuine with the care they put into doing their job.

Jason and I woke up the day after our wedding and looked over at each other and agreed that we would love to come to the Grand each year for our anniversary. We felt at home and we felt like the people actually cared about us and our important day. The Grand provided us with so much joy and happiness on July 11, 2010. Both Jason and I cannot stop talking about how perfect it was. We continue to look at our pictures and smile at how beautiful our day was for the right price for us. It is important to us to go back to the Grand each year and relive those wonderful memories surrounded by beautiful scenery, mouth watering food, and the wonderful people and service, all of which were with us that wonderful day we began our life together.